i was also wanting to do the lower rad hose heater because it would look cleaner and be far faster to install. same wattage as well.
Im not ghetto rigging anything, thank you. I also have looked and did not find the info i was looking for. i did find the size for an older tdi, which is 1 1/4" ID.
the torpedo heater is small. it takes a 1LB cylinder. so its sreally small and will be connected outside the car. there will be copper tubing coiled within the heater. one end has a small 12v pump. attached is 2 hoses with sealing quick connects. it will connect in-line. within 15 min it would have the coolant to opperating temp. I have that design sorted. That is the main reason not wanting a frost heater. so there is a reason for the lower rad heater. I would also make it thermostatically controlled.
will have no coolant loss because they are hydrolic couplers, they self seal. the pump draws 2ah and will be powered off the unit vua a voltage step down unit. It only needs to rin 15min max. And this is the unit. it uses a 1LB tank and a 18v battery.
Ive installed a second battrery and a fuel filter heater thats got a thermostat.
thank you for your advice. im used to an old 89 silverado diesel and heavy equipment that had to be started eith eather to start. Which i know will hurt a newer tdi.
Ah, thats why i figured the second battery and fuel heater would be enough. but my dad is adimant on a block heater because one guy said they are hard to start. FYI thay guy works at a dealorship. im sure they had not winterized the summer fuel and the batteries were low... Anyway him and i came up with this idea. oh and my second battery is in my spare tire. wired with 1 awg wire to the other battery.
The t-stat will effectively prevent heating of the block and any possible convection effect.
Why would vw break the thermodynamic law of heat rises cold sinks. Leave it to the germans to make the lower hose the hot inlet and the upper the outlet. I suppose both hoses are the same diameter. So it pulls coolant from the top. so if your coolant is low you will cook the motor fast being it will suck air. Brillant VW.One thing to consider, since the phrase "lower rad hose" has come up repeatedly in this thread, is the location of the t-stat.
Someone wiser than me will need to comment on the location in this specific model, but on all previous TDIs the t-stat is up-stream of the lower rad hose, so a lower rad-hose-style heater won't do anything other than warm up the bottom of the radiator.
Hence the typical coolant convection heater installation plumbed into the oil cooler path on the other side of the t-stat, and why many people opt for a Frostheater kit with exactly the right replacement hoses, mounts, pictorial instructions, etc.
Again, depends on the specifics of t-stat location for this model.
mighty cold temps. basically walk from the jobsite to the car (normally quarter mile). hook up the unit and sit in the car for 5 min. To me the design is simple. Most vehicles ive installed dual batteries for CCA. had a 91 escort that i would crank till she went. Never had to replace starter in 2 years of ownership.
by my calculations to would boil the coolant within 30 min, coming from -10f. so in 5 minutes it will get the heater circut, to 60f or so. im only trying to get the coolant above 40f. nothing worse than coming out to a car that wont start after working 12 hrs.
So a silicone pan heater glued to the oil pan will do better than a block heater? I suppose the convection from the hot oil would warm the block... And my car does have the 12v auxiliary heater from factory. But not the block heater. Its strange that only the Canadian ones came with it. And the usa the auxiliary heater was an option and not standard. How big of a heater can be glued to the oil pan?
I saw a few that replace the drain plug with a heating element.